Smith family hopes for answers after cruise ship case settles

Debra Friedman, Greenwich Time

Debra Friedman, Staff Writer

Published 10:27 pm, Tuesday, September 14, 2010

George Smith, left, poses with his son, George Smith IV, at their Cos Cob Liquor Store, in Greenwich, in this Dec. 30, 2003, file photo. A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit surrounding the estate of George Smith IV, who vanished on his honeymoon cruise in 2005. The settlement was reached between the parents of George A. Smith IV, his widow, Jennifer Hagel-Smith and Royal Caribbean, the cruise line Smith was on when he vanished. With the settlement, the amount awarded by the cruise line in the wake of Smith’s death rose from $1.1 million to over $1.3 million, which lawyers for Smith’s family said is closer to Smith’s projected earning capacity.
Photo: File Photo

George Smith, left, poses with his son, George Smith IV, at their...

Greenwich_030408_ Maureen and George Smith III (behind her), left, and attorneys Eugene Riccio and Mike Jones, from left, head to probate court at Greenwich Town Hall in this 2008 photo. A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit surrounding the estate of George Smith IV, who vanished on his honeymoon cruise in 2005. The settlement was reached between the parents of George A. Smith IV, his widow, Jennifer Hagel-Smith and Royal Caribbean, the cruise line Smith was on when he vanished. With the settlement, the amount awarded by the cruise line in the wake of Smith’s death rose from $1.1 million to over $1.3 million, which lawyers for Smith’s family said is closer to Smith’s projected earning capacity.
Photo: File Photo

Greenwich_030408_ Maureen and George Smith III (behind her), left,...

Jennifer Hagel Smith, the widow of George A. Smith IV, heads to probate court at Greenwich Town Hall in this February 2008 file photo. A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit surrounding the estate of George Smith IV, who vanished on his honeymoon cruise in 2005. The settlement was reached between the parents of George A. Smith IV, his widow, Jennifer Hagel-Smith and Royal Caribbean, the cruise line Smith was on when he vanished. With the settlement, the amount awarded by the cruise line in the wake of Smith’s death rose from $1.1 million to over $1.3 million, which lawyers for Smith’s family said is closer to Smith’s projected earning capacity.
Photo: File Photo/Helen Neafsey, Greenwich Time

Jennifer Hagel Smith, the widow of George A. Smith IV, heads to...

This July 5, 2005, file photo provided by the Smith family, shows George Smith IV and his wife, Jennifer Hagel Smith. The family of the Connecticut man who disappeared from his honeymoon cruise in 2005 says an amended settlement with the cruise line could help solve the mystery of what happened to him. The family says the amended $1.3 million settlement reached Tuesday requires the cruise line to turn over witness statements and other information from its investigation. Their lawyers say the FBI recently reaffirmed that its criminal investigation is still open and active. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Smith Family, File)
Photo: Contributed Photo

STAMFORD -- The four-year legal battle involving the estate of a Greenwich man who vanished on his honeymoon cruise in 2005 ended Tuesday, but could open up new doors to solve the mystery.

The amended settlement, which comes just weeks before a scheduled trial, was reached between the parents of George A. Smith IV and his widow, Jennifer Hagel Smith, over the amount awarded by Royal Caribbean International in the wake of Smith's disappearance. It amends a prior settlement award from $1.1 million to over $1.3 million, which lawyers for Smith's family said is closer to his projected lifetime earning capacity. The additional money awarded as part of the new agreement will be split evenly between his widow and Smith's other family, lawyers said.

As part of the settlement, Royal Caribbean also agreed to hand over its investigative file on Smith's disappearance, which includes witness statements made to Royal Caribbean and Turkish authorities by those who last saw Smith, as well as from cruise ship employees.

Attorney Michael Jones, a lawyer for Smith's family, said it will take them several weeks to review the documents, which they will hand over to the FBI in the event investigators are missing any of the evidence compiled by the cruise line.

Jones said the new agreement allocates more of the total settlement money to Smith's parents, from $50,000 in the original agreement to $300,000 in the amended settlement. The newly awarded money does not cover the legal and investigatory expenses the Smith family has spent trying to find out what happened to their son, Jones said.

"The family at this point in time thought it was best to resolve the case in order to get the information and move on to the next step so they can do their own analysis and try to get some comfort about what happened to George," Jones said.

Smith's family said they are hopeful the new documents will provide answers.

"This settlement brings us one step closer to achieving our objectives because Royal Caribbean has agreed to provide more extensive information from its investigation into George's disappearance," said Maureen Smith, George's mother, in a prepared statement.

Smith, who planned on taking over his father's Cos Cob Liquor Store, disappeared July 5, 2005, into the Aegean Sea while on a cruise. His body, which left bloodstains on an exterior overhang of the ship, was never found.

In 2008, Smith's parents filed a lawsuit in state Superior Court in Stamford contesting a Greenwich Probate Court approval of a $1.1 million settlement their former daughter-in-law reached with Royal Caribbean International. The Smiths claimed in the lawsuit that the amount fell short of his earning capacity.

"Jennifer Hagel and her family are pleased that we were finally able to bring some measure of closure to this long-litigated matter," attorney Richard Sheeley said in a statement.

"All Jennifer ever wanted was to get every bit of available information from (Royal Caribbean) to provide some explanation for George's disappearance and we simply hope that, despite the amount of time that has passed with this litigation, any trail that may have existed is not too cold to produce answers."

A spokeswoman for Royal Caribbean confirmed the settlement in a statement Tuesday. "We entered into this agreement in hopes that it will be another step in the healing process for Jennifer and the Smith family," read the statement. "We are confident that the disclosure of any additional information will again demonstrate that we acted properly in assisting Jennifer and the Smith family in the aftermath of their tragic loss."

Jones said due to the amount of time that has passed since Smith's disappearance, there are no other legal avenues to pursue if the newly provided evidence reveals that any individual or individuals were responsible for his death.

However, Jones said the Smith family met with investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation two months ago, who told them the investigation is still open and active.

Smith's disappearance was part of a driving force between a recently enacted law that mandates that cruise personnel contact both the FBI and the U.S. Coast Guard as soon as passengers report homicides, suspicious deaths, missing U.S. nationals, kidnappings or assaults.

The settlement puts an end to a sometimes bitter legal battle between Smith's family and his widow. During the course of the lawsuit, Smith's family alleged that Hagel Smith quickly settled with the cruise line to avoid embarrassing details about that night on the ship from becoming public. However, Hagel Smith said the family was refusing to acknowledge that their son's use of prescription drugs and alcohol may have caused an accidental fall -- a claim lawyers for Smith's family continue to dispute

The cruise line has said that guests heard a loud thump about the time Smith went missing. Hagel Smith was found asleep in a corridor on the other side of the ship. The couple had been spotted partying and drinking that night. There has never been a finding as to whether foul play was involved in Smith's disappearance.